Tag Archive | "democracy"

Posted on 27 April 2017

Who needs a participatory culture and healthy debate on public policy when you have flea?

Singaporeans from all walks of life, who believe apathy is the way forward, are nodding their heads in approval.

This after hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans visited Artbox and then complained it is very crowded even when they knew it would be.

One Singaporean, Jin Zuay Lang, said she is heartened by this show of support and solidarity by Singaporeans: “This shows that Singaporeans are united as one for a common cause, putting our money where our mouth is.”

“Who needs a mature democracy when you have flea?”

“A participatory culture can take a back seat as long as flea is around.”

However, other Singaporeans said choosing flea above democracy, or anything else for that matter, is a matter of choice and a sign that democracy is alive and well.

Another local, Mai Dong Xi, said: “We shouldn’t shortchange ourselves by taking the route to maturing our democracy at more costs as it is clear Singaporeans would rather prefer buying useless things from a flea market.”

“A democracy where people are involved in politics all the time is quite dull. We need more useless things and pointless things.”

Posted on 17 April 2017

Who needs a participatory culture and healthy debate on public policy when you have flea?

Singaporeans from all walks of life, who believe apathy is the way forward, are nodding their heads in approval.

This after hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans visited Artbox and then complained it is very crowded even when they knew it would be.

One Singaporean, Jin Zuay Lang, said she is heartened by this show of support and solidarity by Singaporeans: “This shows that Singaporeans are united as one for a common cause, putting our money where our mouth is.”

“Who needs a mature democracy when you have flea?”

“A participatory culture can take a back seat as long as flea is around.”

However, other Singaporeans said choosing flea above democracy, or anything else for that matter, is a matter of choice and a sign that democracy is alive and well.

Another local, Mai Dong Xi, said: “We shouldn’t shortchange ourselves by taking the route to maturing our democracy at more costs as it is clear Singaporeans would rather prefer buying useless things from a flea market.”

“A democracy where people are involved in politics all the time is quite dull. We need more useless things and pointless things.”

Posted on 25 December 2013

Singapore has become a full-fledged democracy in 2013 as PAP reached the mid-term electoral mark with less than three years to the next general election, which will be dubbed as another “watershed election” for sure.

Under PAP’s current regime, many improvements have been made to Singapore’s political scene that serve to benefit Singaporeans.

Self-styled political pundit, Eric de Yaya, said: “For example, opposition parties can now operate without fear of harassment from the ruling party.”

Tak Poh Zhuar, a local said: “For example, if you want to start a website to provide news and information to Singaporeans, you only need to fill in 5,983 forms in writing and jump through 93 hoops.”

Such improvements aside, Singapore’s political progress can also be seen to be occurring in other quarters, where an opening up by political leaders to public scrutiny means a more transparent relationship with the masses.

One Singaporean, Lai Zhuo Ai, said: “For example, at least one PAP MP has openly admitted to having sex.”

Posted on 05 September 2013

East has more democracy and also more vehicle accidents and dengue cases.

East of Singapore has more dengue cases:

East of Singapore has more vehicle accidents

Scientists wearing white lab coats that show that they are very intelligent and can analyse data have stepped forward to warn Singaporeans that more democracy is not good for their health.

This after it has been confirmed once and for all that greater levels of democracy in the east of Singapore has naturally led to more vehicle accidents on the road, plus, a greater number of dengue cases.

One preeminent scientist, Chuan Bai Yi, said: “If you cut the map of Singapore in half, you can tell just by looking at the map that the east is messed up.”

The east is where the PAP lost Aljunied GRC and almost lost East Coast GRC to the opposition in GE2011.

In the antediluvian west, where the opposition political parties have failed to make a dent, lesser and close to nil expressway accidents and dengue cases were reported.

One prominent scientist, Ke Xue Jia, said: “When Singaporeans demand greater democracy, there will be more messiness and more demands for their right to do whatever they want.”

“In the same way, mosquitoes in the east will also demand that they have rights and freedom of movement and therefore, they will bite more people because democracy is universal and a mess.”

Posted on 25 August 2013

Eastern parts of Singapore experience greater number of accidents because of democracy.

There is no way anyone in the right mind can dispute the statistics.

Because it has been confirmed once and for all that greater levels of democracy will naturally lead to more vehicle accidents on the road.

Based on 2,000 tweets put out by the Land Transport Authority’s Twitter account over a three-month period between May 26 and Aug. 22, the number of accidents that were tweeted as it happened in real-time have been aggregated to provide a clearer picture of where vehicle accident hot spots are.

And it has been found that vehicle accident hot spots on expressways correspond to democracy hot spots in Singapore, which have typically been in the east.

This is where the PAP lost Aljunied GRC and almost lost East Coast GRC to the opposition.

With greater democracy is more chaos. And with more chaos, there are more incidents involving car accidents.

In the antediluvian west, where the opposition political parties have failed to make a dent, lesser and close to nil expressway accidents were reported.

Self-styled political pundit Eric de Yaya, said: “You can literally cut the map of Singapore in half and the results speak for itself.”

“There is a certain recklessness when there is more democracy. Look at Egypt and Syria.”

This is because the global economy is in uncharted waters. Even European nations, with their generous welfare systems and enforced immigration policies, are in trouble.

Soul-searching is not reserved only for the PAP: The purported forefathers of democracy are struggling and have a lot to think about.

America is facing up with a resurgent China – a complacent giant that has awoken from its long slumber and realised that the ascendency of the West and Western ideas has been but a blip in the world’s long history.

Even India – the world’s largest democracy, is lagging further and further behind.

And why?

Because ideals, yes, even those that developed democracies depend on, ultimately don’t feed people. Doing what is necessary, to ensure survivability, doing what puts food on the table – feeds people.

Put it this way: In Singapore, ideals are for restless youths who will move into nice, air conditioned offices soon enough after getting a decent education. Beggars living day by day just don’t give a damn.

But idealism can only be sustained if and only if there are other people out there doing the grunt work of being industrious and holding the economic front.

And don’t forget, a decent education to begin with, is the result of the foundation laid for by the PAP, through more than 50 years of proven track record.

Yes, the PAP is not perfect. It even acknowledges that.

However, which government doesn’t make mistakes? And which other government in the world can make a small island state, expelled from a federation, punch way above its weight in regional and international affairs? And this is no hypothetical question.

Should we be voting for the opposition, for so-called democracy and for less tangible gains, while all over the world, democracies are also in trouble, and real competition is heating up?

Therefore, I don’t buy the argument that the presence of opposition enables constructive competition.

Sure, we don’t want to emulate those types of democracy where it is all a mess. But can it not be possible that the presence of PAP is the compromise between a democratic and authoritarian state?

Think about this: Is this the time to push for democratic change without any of the negative trade-offs? Can we afford this, when nations, particularly in our region, are becoming more practical, more competitive, when our immediate neighbours, with their natural resources and vast markets at command, are fast catching up?

It is economic growth that holds Singapore together, that ensures we have a say in ASEAN and beyond. In the dog-eat-dog world of international politics, poor beggars will be ripped to shreds.

Are we abandoning what is done, for what ought to be done? To this, Machiavelli had this to say: “He who abandons what is done for what should be done, will rather bring about his own ruin than his preservation”.

We should be mindful that Singapore’s economy is based on international trade and the free flow of capital. And international capital is easily spooked. Investor darling one day, pariah the next.

And increasingly, alternative options are multiplying in the investment horizon in emerging, growth markets.

We are sailing into uncharted seas, and to this, you need a single-minded determination – the captain that you can trust, the captain with the best proven track record.

We are all familiar by now about this driver/pilot analogy, but to be fair, let us hope that the co-navigator will attempt to provide constructive feedback and advice, instead of attempting to undermine the captain’s decisions at every chance, or God forbid, try to wrest the ship’s wheel.

Let us hope the opposition will be able to step up to the task, what more in a small, swift ship in a sea plied with much bigger vessels than ours, braving the storm, and some of these heeling.

Should not a small ship in turbulent seas be more pragmatic? Let us not forget that it is economic growth that holds Singapore together, that ensures we have a say in ASEAN and beyond. In the dog-eat-dog world of international politics, poor beggars will be ripped to shreds.

Detractors say that there is a need for “heartware”, beyond sheer hardware. This is another fair point.

But then again, take a look at today’s papers – not the Straits Times, for the skeptics – and you will notice countries with “soft power” reserves, which are enjoying life, are getting a massive reality check.

The Europeans are waking up to the fact that their lifestyle is not sustainable.

Even the Americans are facing up to the end of hegemony and a new, multi-polar, competitive world order.

Countries with “hard power” reserves and huge resources and markets are the ones delivering the goods. The era of small economies rapidly developing based on trade is over. From the old development “formula“ of Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea, now comes the aptly named BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and add to that, Indonesia.

The million dollar question remains – will the opposition ensure better governance, and better management? Let us hope so. To be fair, the debate about Singapore needing soulfulness is a perfectly good one, but above that, one is faced with the reality that continued economic performance and growth in a competitive world is what is needed to sustain this small island republic, and its already high living standards.

These are the issues that make an immediate impact on everyone’s daily lives.

Put simply, results feed people. This election, if nothing else, is a healthy injection of realpolitik.

Put simply, realistic politics.

Not the airy-fairy stuff that makes someone teary-eyed but nothing more.

Deliver the results; deliver us across these uncharted seas. For there be economic and political dragons, not ideological fancies. Let us hope the opposition does serve this function, if nothing else.